Under the agreement, the Provincial Government, through its energy corporation, will become an equity partner with a 4.9 per cent stake.
“We are very pleased to have achieved this milestone for the Hebron project, and to be part of a major addition to offshore oil production infrastructure in the East Coast of Canada. We welcome the Provincial energy company into the Hebron joint venture and look forward to working with the operator, Chevron, to move the project towards future milestones,” says senior vice president for Offshore Upstream in StatoilHydro Canada, Bruce Brummitt.
StatoilHydro is already a partner in the Hibernia and Terra Nova fields, and will drill an exploration well on the Mizzen prospect this fall.
"We hope that through our technology background and with our experience from harsh environments we can make a positive contribution to this project. Our experience from similar, large fields on the Norwegian continental shelf encourages us to look for upside potential in Hebron and work to maximize the potential of field,” says Brummitt.
First oil is expected between 2016 and 2018 with production reaching a peak of approximately 150,000 barrels per day two years later.
With the official signing of the formal agreements, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, through its energy corporation, will acquire a 4.9 per cent equity stake in the project with ExxonMobil assuming 36 per cent, the operator Chevron 26.7 per cent, Petro-Canada 22.7 per cent and StatoilHydro the remaining 9.7 per cent.